transparency florida status and recommendationstransparency florida status and recommendations joint...
TRANSCRIPT
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA
STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Joint Legislative Auditing Committee
November 2015
ANDY GARDINER President of the Senate
STEVE CRISAFULLI Speaker of the House
2
This page intentionally left blank
Joint Legislative Auditing Committee
Senator Joseph Abruzzo, Chair
Representative Daniel D. “Dan” Raulerson, Vice Chair
Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto
Senator Rob Bradley
Senator Audrey Gibson
Senator Wilton Simpson
Representative Debbie Mayfield
Representative Amanda Murphy
Representative Ray Rodrigues
Representative Cynthia A. Stafford
4
This page intentionally left blank
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
1
SCOPE As required by s. 215.985(7), F.S., this report from the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee (Committee)
provides recommendations related the possible expansion of the Transparency Florida website,1 including
whether to expand the scope to include educational, local governmental, and other non-state governmental
entities. Also, as required by s. 215.985(13), F.S., this report provides the progress made in establishing the
single website required by the Transparency Florida Act and recommendations for enhancing the content
and format of the website and related policies and procedures.
BACKGROUND
Overview of the Transparency Florida Act The “Transparency Florida Act (Act),”2 an act relating to transparency in government spending, requires
several websites for public access to government entity financial information.
The Act, as originally approved in 2009,3 required a single website to be established by the Executive Office
of the Governor (EOG), in consultation with the appropriations committees of the Senate and the House of
Representatives. Specified information relating to state expenditures, appropriations, spending authority,
and employee positions and pay rates was required to be provided on the website.
Responsibilities assigned by law to the Committee included:
oversight and management of the website;4
propose additional state fiscal information to be included on the website;
develop a schedule for adding information from other governmental entities to the website;5
coordinate with the Financial Management Information Board in developing any recommendations for
including information on the website which is necessary to meet the requirements of s. 215.91(8); and,
prepare an annual report detailing progress in establishing the website and providing recommendations
for enhancement of the content and format of the website and related policies and procedures.
In 2011, the Act was revised to require the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to provide public access to a state
contract management system that provides information and documentation relating to the contracting
agency.6 Other revisions included: (1) requiring the State’s five water management districts to provide
monthly financial statements to their board members and to make such statements available for public
access on their website, (2) exempting municipalities and special districts with total annual revenues of less
1 Refers to the website established by the Executive Office of the Governor, in consultation with the appropriations
committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, which provides information related to the approved
operating budget for the State of Florida. 2 Chapter 2013-54, L.O.F. 3 Chapter 2009-74, L.O.F. 4 Section 11.40(4)(b), F.S. (2009) 5 These entities included any state, county, municipal, special district, or other political subdivision whether
executive, judicial or legislative, including, but not limited, to any department, division, bureau, commission,
authority, district, or agency thereof, or any public school district, community college, state university, or associated
board. 6 Chapter 2011-49, L.O.F.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
2
than $10 million from the Act’s requirements, and (3) several technical and clarifying changes.7 Also, a
revision to s. 11.40, F.S., removed the Committee’s responsibility to manage and oversee the Transparency
Florida website.8
Further revisions to the Act were adopted in 2013.9 In addition to the two websites previously required, the
Act now also requires the following websites:
The EOG, in consultation with the appropriations committees of the Senate and the House of
Representatives, is required to establish and maintain a website that provides information relating to
fiscal planning for the State. Minimum requirements include the Legislative Budget Commission’s
long-range financial outlook; instructions provided to state agencies relating to legislative budget
requests; capital improvements plans, long-range program plans and legislative budget requests (LBR)
submitted by each state agency or branch of state government; any amendments to LBRs; and, the
Governor’s budget recommendation submitted pursuant to s. 216.163, F.S.
The Department of Management Services is required to establish and maintain a website that provides
current information relating to each employee or officer of a state agency, a state university, or the State
Board of Administration. Minimum requirements include providing the names of employees and their
salary or hourly rate of pay; position number, class code, and class title; and employing agency and
budget entity.
The EOG, in consultation with the appropriations committees of the Senate and the House of
Representatives, is required to establish and maintain a single website that provides access to all other
websites (four) required by the Act.
Additional revisions include:
The minimum requirements for the Act’s original website (information relating to state expenditures,
appropriations, spending authority, and employee positions) were expanded to include balance reports
for trust funds and general revenue; fixed capital outlay project data; a 10-year history of appropriations
by agency; links to state audits or reports related to the expenditure and dispersal of state funds; and
links to program or activity descriptions for which funds may be expended.
The Committee is no longer required to recommend a format for collecting and displaying information
from governmental entities, including local governmental and educational entities. Rather, the
Committee is required to recommend: (1) whether additional information from these entities should be
included on the website, and (2) a schedule and a format for collecting and displaying the additional
information.
Language related to the contract tracking system required to be posted by the CFO is expanded to: (1)
provide timelines, (2) require each state entity to post information to the contract tracking system, (3)
address confidentiality and other legal issues, (4) provide definitions, and (5) authorize Cabinet
members to post the required contract tracking information to their own agency-managed websites in
lieu of posting on the CFO’s tracking system.
No revisions to the Act were made in 2014 or 2015. Additional details relating to the Act in its current form
may be found in Appendix A.
Previous Committee Effort
7 Ibid. 8 Chapter 2011-34, L.O.F. 9 Chapter 2013-54, L.O.F.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
3
The Committee has issued three previous reports related to the Act. A brief summary of the
recommendations of each report follows.
2010 Committee Report The act, as originally written, required the Committee to develop a plan to add fiscal information for other
governmental entities, such as municipalities and school districts, to the website. Although the Committee
was authorized to also make recommendations related to state agency information, much of that information
was specified in statute and was being implemented by the EOG, in consultation with the appropriations
committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Committee’s initial focus was on school
districts due to the consistency of financial information required of the State’s 67 school districts. Specific
recommendations and timeframes for adding school district fiscal information to Transparency Florida10
were provided. Also, general recommendations were provided for adding fiscal information for other
governmental entities, including state agencies, universities, colleges, counties, municipalities, special
districts, and charter schools/charter technical career centers.
The Committee recommended the use of three phases for the addition of school district financial
information to Transparency Florida. The Committee wanted citizens who visit either the home page of a
school district’s website or Transparency Florida to have the ability to easily access the school district’s
financial information that was located on the school district’s website, the Department of Education’s
(DOE) website, and Transparency Florida.
The overall approach was to recommend that information which was readily available, with minimal effort
and cost, to be included for school districts during the first phases of implementation. Most of the
information should be located on the DOE’s website with links to access it on Transparency Florida. This
information included numerous reports prepared by the school districts, the DOE, and the Auditor General.
The Committee expected that the first two phases could be accomplished without the need for additional
resources.
Ultimately, once all phases were implemented, the goal was to provide transaction-level details of
expenditures. Stakeholders expressed concern about the school districts’ ability to provide this level of
detail. School districts’ accounting systems have the ability to capture expenditures at the sub-function and
the sub-object levels.11 These systems do not usually capture details of the amount spent on specific
supplies, such as pencils or paper, or on a roofing project. Stakeholders also had concerns about the school
districts’ ability to provide this information on their websites, primarily due to cost and staffing issues.
Their preference was for the State to build a data-system and require the school districts to upload via FTP
(File Transfer Protocol) a monthly summary of expenditures at the sub-function and sub-object levels to
Transparency Florida. Although Committee members were interested in more detailed information, this
approach was agreed to with the idea that it was a starting point. In addition, the Committee recommended
that the school districts provide vendor histories, to include details of expenditures for each vendor.
Although both the State and the school districts would incur costs, the main financial burden of the project
would fall on the State. Rough estimates of the State’s cost ran into the millions of dollars. Due to the
10 For the purpose of this report, Transparency Florida refers to www.transparencyflorida.gov/, the original website
created pursuant to the Transparency Florida Act. 11 For example, sub-function categories include costs associated with K-12, food services, and pupil transportation
services; sub-object categories include costs associated with classroom teachers, travel, and textbooks.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
4
uncertainty of the cost estimates, the Committee members voted to recommend to delay this phase until
further information is available.
2011 Committee Report The initial Committee report, discussed above, recommended deferring implementation related to detailed
school district financial transactions until the Committee had additional information and could further
discuss the issues and potential costs involved. The premise was that the school districts would transmit
monthly data to the State for display on Transparency Florida. As explained, the cost was expected to be
in the millions of dollars, but only a rough estimate was available.
In light of the continued financial difficulties being faced by the State, the Committee decided to abandon
this approach and recommend an alternative. The new focus was to keep local information at the local level
and for the State to provide access to it on Transparency Florida.
Although the Committee understood that the goal of the project was to provide more financial transparency
at all levels of government, it recognized that local governments12 know best what information their citizens
want available for review. The Committee did not believe that it was the State’s responsibility to design
and build a system to collect and display local governments’ information. Rather, the Committee
recommended that the State work in partnership with local governments, as they increase transparency on
their websites, so that the full financial burden did not fall on the local governments.
The Committee recommended that representatives for each type of entity develop suggested guidelines for
the type of financial information and the level of detail that should be included. Each local government
should be responsible for providing its financial information on its own website. A link should be included
on Transparency Florida for each entity that implements the suggested guidelines in order to provide a
central access point.
The Committee suggested that the guidelines include a uniform framework to display the information in a
well-organized fashion so as to provide easy, consistent access to all online financial information for all
local governments. When developing the suggested guidelines, some of the financial information that the
Committee recommended for consideration included a searchable electronic checkbook, plus various
documents that are prepared during the normal course of business, such as budget documents, monthly
financial statements, audit reports, and contracts and related information. The Committee’s intent was to
provide an opportunity for increased financial transparency for Florida’s citizens, by providing guidance
and flexibility to local governments, without causing a financial burden in the process.
2014 Committee Report
The Committee was presented with a draft of the report which included an update for the status of
Transparency Florida and the related websites, but did not include any recommendations. Rather, the
section of the report titled “Recommendations” included only the wording “To Be Determined.” A separate
handout was provided in the meeting packet which included: (1) recommendations that had been suggested
by Committee members, (2) a series of questions intended to guide the members during their discussion of
possible recommendations, and (3) a chart which listed various types of financial-related information that
could potentially be considered in an expansion of the Transparency Florida website. Specifically, this
information was related to non-State entities, such as school districts, municipalities and other local entities,
and included items such as budget documents, monthly financial statements, and contract information.
12 Local government in this context referred to all non-state entities subject to the requirements of the Transparency
Florida Act at the time of the Committee’s recommendation.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5
The Committee approved a motion to adopt the draft report “as is” by a vote of 10-1. This meant that the
recommendations remained “To Be Determined” and no new information would be recommended for
addition to Transparency Florida or the related websites. The member who voted against the motion did
so because he had submitted a recommendation related to the online posting of college employee salaries
that he had not had an opportunity to discuss prior to the time the motion was offered. At a subsequent
meeting, the Committee adopted a related recommendation; however, because the report had already been
approved, it was not available to be revised. Therefore, the recommendation was included in the cover letter
which accompanied the report. The cover letter stated “[o]n February 17, 2014, the Committee
recommended that the Florida Has a Right to Know website include the salary of each State University and
Florida College System institution employee by position number only. The name of the employee should
not be attached to the salary. Currently, the website provides the name and salary of each State University
employee, in compliance with s. 215.985(6), F.S. The salaries of Florida College System institution
employees are neither provided on the website, nor are they required to be provided under the provisions
of the Transparency Florida Act (s. 215.985, F.S.).”
Transparency-Related Legislation During the 2010 Legislative Session, the Legislature adopted proviso language to implement the
Committee’s recommendations related to school districts for the first two phases. The DOE was required
to provide access to existing school district financial-related reports on its website, create a working group
to develop recommendations to provide school-level data in greater detail and frequency, and publish a
report of its findings by December 1, 2010. School districts were required to provide a link to Transparency
Florida on their website. Links to the DOE and other website information were provided on Transparency
Florida. The requirements assigned to the DOE and school districts were fulfilled.
In 2011, two bills were passed which, although not directly related to the Act, related to efforts to provide
more financial transparency to Florida’s citizens. Senate Bill 1292 (2011)13 required the Chief Financial
Officer to conduct workshops with state agencies, local governments, and educational entities and develop
recommendations for uniform charts of accounts. The final report was due in January 2014. An entity’s
charts of accounts refers to the coding structure used to identify financial transactions. Most of the non-
state entities are currently authorized to adopt their own charts of accounts. The school districts are the
exception; the chart of accounts that they are required to use is specified by the DOE. During discussions
related to determining recommendations for its first required report required by the Act, the Committee
understood that the various charts of accounts used by entities across the state was an obstacle for providing
financial data that could be compared from one entity to another.
Senate Bill 224 (2011)14 required counties, municipalities, special districts, and school districts to post their
tentative budgets, final budgets, and adopted budget amendments on their official websites within a
specified period of time. If a municipality or special district does not have an official website, these
documents are required to be posted on the official website of a county or other specified local governing
authority, as applicable. Another provision required each local governmental entity to provide a link to the
DFS’ website to view the entity’s annual financial report (AFR). The AFR presents a financial snapshot at
fiscal year-end of the entity’s financial condition. It includes the types of revenue received and expenditures
13 Chapter 2011-44, L.O.F. 14 Chapter 2011-144, L.O.F.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6
incurred by the entity. The format and content of the AFR is prescribed by the DFS.15 See Appendix B for
the specific requirements of the bill.
In 2013, a provision in House Bill 5401,16 the bill which revised the Act, created the User Experience Task
Force. Its purpose was to develop and recommend a design for consolidating existing state-managed
websites that provide public access to state operational and fiscal information into a single website. The
task force was comprised of four members, with one member each designated by the Governor, Chief
Financial Officer, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House. The task force’s work plan was
required to include a review of: (1) all relevant state-managed websites, (2) options for reducing the number
of websites without losing detailed data, and (3) options for linking expenditure data with related invoices
and contracts. The recommendations, due March 1, 2014, were required to include: (1) a design that
provides an intuitive and cohesive user experience that allows users to move easily between varied types
of related data, and (2) a cost estimate for implementation of the design.17
In 2014, Senate Bill 163218 required all independent special districts that had been created for one or more
fiscal years to maintain an official website, effective October 1, 2015.19 The website is required to include
information specified in s. 189.069, F.S., such as the special district’s charter, contact information,
description of the boundaries, budget, and audit report(s).
The Legislature did not address the recommendations made in the Committee’s 2011 report or in the cover
letter to the 2014 report. As previously mentioned, the 2014 report did not include any recommendations.
PRESENT SITUATION
Status of Single Website The requirements of s. 215.985(3), F.S., have been met. The single website titled “Florida Sunshine:
Guiding you to the right financial source” provides external links to all other websites required by the Act
and is available at http://floridasunshine.gov/. It provides access to: (1) Transparency Florida (State
Finances), (2) Transparency Florida (State Budget), (3) Florida Has a Right to Know, (4) Florida
Accountability Contract Tracking System (FACTS), (5) Florida Fiscal Portal, (6) Florida Government
Program Summaries, and (7) Transparency Florida Act User Experience Task Force.
15 See s. 218.32, F.S. 16 Chapter 2013-54, L.O.F. 17 The User Experience Task Force’s Final Report is available online at
http://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/dis/transparencytaskforce/Documents/UETFFinalRecommendation2-26-
2014Updated.pdf. The Task Force focused on eleven state-managed websites, including Transparency Florida, that
provide state-wide financial information and recommended the following: (1) the use of www.floridasunshine.gov as
a portal to access the information provided on these websites; (2) three levels of support for the portal, including a
Transparency Steering Committee and the current website managers (i.e., the Governor’s Office, the CFO’s Office,
etc.); (3) a three-pronged approach to education and training that includes a PowerPoint presentation and video of
Florida’s budget process; (4) categorizing the financial information provided in one of four categories: revenue,
budget, spend, and audit; and (5) website features to include consistency in the display of webpages, the ability to
search each website, compatibility with major web browsers, and numerous other suggestions to enhance the users’
experience. The estimated cost to implement these recommendations is less than $300,000; however the Task Force
acknowledged that their recommendations are very high-level. The report stated that “[d]etailed requirements should
be further developed to quantify the effort, costs, implementation schedule, and the detailed design.” [p. 34] 18 Chapter 2014-22, L.O.F. 19 Dependent special districts are not required to maintain a separate website; however, their information must be
accessible online from the website of the local general-purpose government that created the special district.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
7
Status of the Website Related to the Approved Operating Budget for State Government The requirements of s. 215.985(4), F.S., have been met. The website titled “Transparency Florida” includes
detailed financial-related information for state agencies and other units of state government for the fiscal
years 2008-09 through the current fiscal year, 2015-16. School district information is also available.
Summary of State Information Available on Transparency Florida
The main focus of Transparency Florida has been to provide current financial data related to the State’s
operating budget and daily expenditures made by the state agencies. Such financial data is updated nightly
as funds are released to the state agencies, transferred between budget categories, and used for goods and
services.
In September 2015, an updated version of Transparency Florida was released. Effort was made to provide
a simpler interface for users who may not be familiar with the state appropriations process and terminology,
yet retain the depth of information for the more knowledgeable users.
The Home Page provides the following nine options for users to navigate through the website:
General Public: Summary View of Budget and Spending by Agency;
Budget Analyst: In-depth breakdown of Budget and Spending;
Interactive Bill: View of Budget and Spending in Appropriations Bill format;
State Positions: List of positions with corresponding Salaries and Benefits;
Reports: Chart, compare, filter specific Budget and Spending data;
Quick Facts: Summarized lists of similar Budget items;
Search: Quickly find information on Budget and Spending items;
Site Information: Information and help with this website; and
Other Budget Links: Links to School Districts and other Government Budget information.
The first four options all relate to the State’s Operating Budget. By selecting the General Public option,
some details of the operating budget are available in agency format. This format allows users to select a
specific state agency, including the legislative branch and the state courts system, to view the fiscal year
budget and the amount spent to date. The current fiscal year, 2015-16, is the default; however, users may
view information for any fiscal year from 2008-09 through the current year by selecting from a drop-down
menu. By clicking on the hyperlinks, users may drill down to view the operating budget and amount spent
broken down by program.
The Budget Analyst option allows users to select either the agency format or the ledger format. The agency
format displays the appropriation amount and number of positions for the fiscal year selected, listed by
agency. Users may drill down to the program or service area by selecting an agency’s hyperlink. Additional
details, including disbursements by object and an organizational schedule of allotment balances, are
provided by continuing to select hyperlinks.
The ledger format displays appropriations-related information over the course of the fiscal year. It begins
with the General Appropriations Act (GAA) and includes additional entries for Supplemental
Appropriations, Vetoes, Budget Amendments approved by the Legislative Budget Commission, and other
actions that effect the GAA. Users can select hyperlinks to obtain additional information for each item.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
8
The Interactive Bill format displays the initial information as it appears in the General Appropriations Act.
Again, users may drill down to view more detailed information by clicking on the hyperlinks. As the user
drills down, the screen displays the information described above for the Budget Analyst option. By
continuing to drill down, the name of each vendor associated with an expenditure is provided. Since the
State does not have electronic invoicing, images of invoices are not provided; however, the statewide
document number is provided, and users may contact the specified agency contact to request further
information or a copy of an invoice.
The State Positions option provides position information by agency and by program. At the agency level,
the number of fixed, excess, total, reserve, authorized, established, filled, and vacant positions may be
viewed. By drilling down, which may be done by selecting the hyperlink for the program area, users may
view salary for the positions by selecting the Details tab. Salaries are provided by position level only and
do not include employee names.
The Budget Analyst, Interactive Bill, and State Positions options provide a new feature which allows the
user to indicate whether or not he or she wishes to display the codes associated with each entry. All of the
four options, including General Public, provide users with the ability to export the information into an Excel
spreadsheet.
Various reports relating to the operating budget, appropriations/disbursements, fixed capital outlay,
reversions, general revenue, and trust funds may be generated from Transparency Florida by selecting the
Reports option. These reports include:
Operating budget by expenditure type, fund source, or program area;
Comparison of operational appropriations for two fiscal years by state agency and/or category;
Comparison of operational appropriations to disbursements made within one fiscal year by state agency
and/or category;
Comparison of operational disbursements for two fiscal years by state agency, category, and/or object
code;
Disbursements by line item;
Fixed capital outlay appropriations and disbursements by category and/or state agency;
Operating budgets by expenditure type, fund source, or program area;
Schedule of Allotment Balances;
Annual operational reversions by fiscal year;
Comparison of operational reversions by fiscal year;
Fixed capital outlay appropriations, reversions, and outstanding disbursements by fiscal year;
Five-year history of operational reversions;
General Revenue Fund cash balance, cash receipts, and cash disbursements, by month and by year;
Trust fund balances; and,
Ten-Year History of Appropriation Reports
The Quick Facts option provides information related to budget amendments, back of bill appropriations,
budget issues, supplemental appropriations, and vetoes. A description of each of these items, the dollar
amount (if applicable), and other details are provided.
By selecting the Search Option, users may search the appropriations bill, budget issues, objects, and vendors
by entering a key word or phrase or similar information and continue to drill down to obtain more detailed
information.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
9
The Site Information option provides the agency contact list, glossary, and frequently asked questions.
Finally, by selecting the Other Budget Links option, Transparency Florida provides links to various reports,
websites, and other documents related to the state budget as follows:
Fiscal Analysis in Brief: an annual report prepared and published by the Legislature that summarizes
fiscal and budgetary information for a given fiscal year;
Long-Range Financial Outlook 3-Year Plan: an annual report prepared and published by the Legislature
that provides a long-range picture of the State’s financial position by integrating projections of the
major programs driving annual budget requirements with revenue estimates;
The Chief Financial Officer’s Transparency Florida: a webpage which includes links to:
o State Financials (Budget, Spending and related information);
o State Payments;
o Florida State Contract Search (FACTS);
o State Contract Audits;
o State Economic Incentives Program;
o Quasi Government Spending;
o Estimated state taxes paid based on income;
o State Financial Reports;
o Local Government Financial Reporting;20 and,
o State Employee Data (Florida Has a Right to Know).
Reports on State Properties and Occupancy Rates: information from the Department of Management
Services’ Division of Real Estate Development and Management on state-owned buildings and
occupancy rates;
Government Program Summaries: encyclopedia of descriptive information on over 200 major state
programs compiled by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability; and
Reports on Public School Districts: these reports will be described in the next section of this report.
Transparency Florida includes all information required by the Act.
20 Although labeled Local Budgets on this webpage, the information provided relates to actual revenues and
expenditures, and not budgeted amounts. Most local governmental entities are required by law to post budget
information on their own websites.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
10
Background and Summary of School District Information Accessible from Transparency Florida
To date, the only non-state financial-related information that is accessible from Transparency Florida
relates to school districts. As previously discussed, the Committee’s focus for its 2010 report was on the
addition of school district information to the website. Proviso language in the 2010 General Appropriations
Act21 was based on the Committee’s 2010 recommendations and required the DOE to:
Coordinate, organize, and publish online all currently available reports relating to school district
finances, including information generated from the DOE’s school district finance database;
Coordinate with the EOG to create links on Transparency Florida to school district reports by August
1, 2010;
Publish additional finance data relating to school districts not currently available online, including
school-level expenditure data, by December 31, 2010;
Work with the school districts to ensure that each district website provides a link to Transparency
Florida; and
Establish a working group to study issues related to the future expansion of school finance data
available to the public through Transparency Florida, develop recommendations regarding the
establishment of a framework to provide school-level data in greater detail and frequency, and publish
a report of its findings by December 1, 2010.
The DOE met the proviso language requirements and the EOG, working in consultation with the
appropriations committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, provided access to the related
school district information on Transparency Florida. As a result, the following reports and other
information are now accessible by selecting the Links option from the Transparency Florida Home Page:
School District Summary Budget
School District Annual Financial Report
School District Audit Reports Prepared by the Auditor General
School District Audit Reports Prepared by Private CPA Firms
School District Program Cost Reports
Financial Profiles of School Districts
Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) Calculations
Five-Year Facilities Work Plan
Public School District Websites
A description of these reports is provided in Appendix C.22
In addition, the websites of some school districts include a link to Transparency Florida. The proviso
language that required school districts to post the link to Transparency Florida on their home page was in
effect for the 2010-11 fiscal year. Currently, there is no such requirement.
The DOE established the workgroup required by the proviso language to address the expansion of school
district information available on Transparency Florida. The School District Working Group’s report,
published in December 2010, recommended:
21 Proviso language for Specific Appropriations 116 through 130 of Ch. 2010-152, L.O.F. 22 Links to school district reports on Transparency Florida are located at
http://transparencyflorida.gov/info/LinkInfo.aspx?FY=16.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
11
Providing school-level data at the sub-function (i.e., K-12, food services, and pupil transportation
services) and sub-object (i.e., classroom teachers, travel, and textbooks) levels; 23 and,
Uploading school district data to Transparency Florida via file transfer protocol (FTP) on a monthly
basis.
The sub-function and sub-object levels were recommended as the most cost effective method due to the
variety of accounting packages used by the school districts. These report recommendations align with the
Committee’s 2010 recommendations for phase three of school district implementation. The goal of this
phase was to provide more frequent and detailed information than had been recommended in the two earlier
phases. The Committee’s 2011 recommendation, however, was to require local entities, including school
districts, to post their financial information on their own website. The Committee reversed the earlier
recommendation which required entities to submit data to the State and the State bearing the responsibility
to design and build a system to receive and display the information on Transparency Florida. The
Committee’s 2014 recommendation was to not require the inclusion of any additional information on
Transparency Florida from school districts or any other entity.
Status of the Website Related to Fiscal Planning for the State The requirements of s. 215.985(5), F.S., have been met. The website titled “Florida Fiscal Portal” includes
budget-related information for the fiscal years 2000-2001 through 2016-2017. Publications available
include: (1) planning and budgeting instructions provided to state agencies, (2) agency legislative budget
requests, (3) the Governor’s recommended budget, (4) appropriations bills, (5) the approved budget, (6) the
final budget report (prepared after year-end), (7) agency long-range program plans, (8) agency capital
improvement plans, (9) fiscal analysis in brief, (10) long-range financial outlook 3-year plan, and other
documents for selected years.
Status of the Website Related to Employee Positions and Salary The requirements of s. 215.985(6), F.S., have been met. The website titled “Florida Has A Right To Know,”
allows users to search payroll data from the State of Florida People First personnel information system. The
database includes information from all Executive Branch agencies, the Lottery, the Justice Administrative
Commission (including state attorneys and public defenders) and the State Courts System (including
judges). In addition, spreadsheets provide information related to employees of the State Board of
Administration and all 12 of the state universities.
Information available includes: (1) name of employee, (2) salary or other rate of pay,24 (3) employing
agency or entity, (4) budget entity, (5) position number, (6) class code, and (7) class title. The People First
information is updated weekly, the university information is updated twice per year, and the State Board of
Administration information is updated quarterly.
23 The level of detail required by Financial and Program Cost Accounting and Reporting for Florida Schools. Known
as the Red Book, this is the uniform chart of accounts required to be used by all Florida school districts for budgeting
and financial reporting (see Sections 1010.01 and 1010.20, F.S., and Rule 6A-1.001, F.A.C.). 24 Universities provide the amount paid per term for Other Personnel Service (OPS) employees; the remaining entities
provide the hourly rate of pay for OPS employees.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
12
Status of the Contract Management System The requirements of s. 215.985(14), F.S., have been met. The CFO established the Florida Accountability
Contract Tracking System (FACTS), which provides online public access to information related to
contracts, grant agreements, and purchase orders executed by most state agencies. According to staff of the
Department of Financial Services, the Legislature, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,
and the Department of Legal Affairs do not use FACTS.25 Information available includes: (1) agency name,
(2) vendor/grantor name, (3) type (contract, grant, or purchase order), (4) agency assigned contract ID (if
applicable), (5) grant award ID (if known), (6) total dollar amount, (7) commodity/service type, and (8)
DFS contract audits (if applicable). Users may search for contract, grant, or purchase information by agency
name, dollar value, commodity/service type (for contract and purchase orders), contract ID,
MyFloridaMarketPlace (MFMP) purchase order number, vendor/grantor name, beginning and/or ending
dates, and/or grant award ID. By selecting a specific contract, grant, or purchase order and drilling down,
users may access detailed information such as statutory authority, deliverables, a record of payments made,
and an image of the contract or grant agreement. State agencies are required to redact confidential
information prior to posting the contract document image online. Due, in part, to the length of time
necessary to review contracts to ensure that all confidential information has been redacted, there may be a
delay in posting images. For contracts in which the Department of Financial Services has conducted an
audit, either summary or more detailed information is available, depending on the date of the audit.26
Status of Water Management District Information
The requirements of s. 215.985(11), F.S., have been met. All five of the state’s water management districts
indicated that they provide monthly financial statements to their governing board members. Also, monthly
financial statements are posted on the website of each water management district dating back to January
2014 or earlier.
Potential Entities Subject to Transparency Florida Act Requirements
A governmental entity, as defined in the Act, means any state, regional, county, municipal, special district,
or other political subdivision whether executive, judicial, or legislative, including, but not limited to, any
department, division, bureau, commission, authority, district, or agency thereof, or any public school
district, community college, state university, or associated board. As originally passed, the Act required the
Committee to recommend a format for displaying information from these entities on Transparency Florida.
Smaller municipalities and special districts, defined as those with a population of 10,000 of less, were
exempt from the Act. Entities that did not receive state appropriations were also exempt. Later, the Act was
revised to provide an exemption based on revenues rather than population. Municipalities and special
districts with total annual revenues of less than $10 million were then exempt from the Act’s requirements.
In addition, the exemption for entities that did not receive state appropriations was removed.
25 An exemption for these two Cabinet agencies, provided in s. 215.985(14)(i), F.S., authorizes each to create its own
agency-managed website for posting contracts in lieu of posting such information on the CFO’s contract management
system. Both agencies, the Senate, and the House of Representatives provide contract information and documents on
their respective websites. In addition, information related to Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’
contracts is on FACTS. 26 By selecting the Audit tab for a specific contract, users are also provided a link to the Department of Financial
Services’ Transparency Florida Contract Audit page. On this webpage, a comprehensive list of contracts that have
been audited from 2010-11 through 2014-15 fiscal years is provided that includes the evaluation criteria used during
the audit and the number of contacts with deficiencies.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
13
Subsequent to a major revision in 2013, current law does not require specific non-state entities to be
included in the Committee’s recommendations or provide an exemption to any of these entities. The
Committee is required to recommend “additional information to be added to a website, such as whether to
expand the scope of the information provided to include state universities, Florida college system
institutions, school districts, charter schools, charter technical career centers, local government units, and
other governmental entities.”27 The following table shows the number of non-state entities of each type that
could potentially be recommended for inclusion:
Type of Entity
(Non-State) Total Number
School Districts 67
Charter Schools and Charter
Technical Career Centers 64028
State Universities 12
Florida College System
Institutions 28
Counties 6729
Municipalities 411
Special Districts 1652 active30
Regional Planning Councils 11
Metropolitan Planning
Organizations 26
Entities affiliated with
Universities and Colleges,
such as the Moffitt Cancer
Center
Unknown
To date, only school districts have been assigned responsibility related to the Transparency Florida Act. As
previously discussed, the DOE was directed to work with the school districts to ensure that each district’s
website provided a link to Transparency Florida. This requirement was based on proviso language and was
applicable for the 2010-11 fiscal year.
RECOMMENDATIONS The Committee recommended that the Florida Has a Right to Know website include the salary of each State
University and Florida College System institution employee by position number only. The name of the
employee should not be attached to the salary. Currently, the website provides the name and salary of each
State University employee, in compliance with s. 215.985(6), F.S. The salaries of Florida College System
institution employees are neither provided on the website, nor are they required to be provided under the
provisions of the Transparency Florida Act (s. 215.985, F.S.).
27 Section 215.985(7)(a), F.S. 28 Reported by the Department of Education for the 2014-15 school year. 29 While there are 67 counties within the State, there are many more independent reporting entities since many of the
constitutional officers operate their own financial management/accounting systems. The 38 counties that responded
to a 2009 survey by the Florida Association of Counties reported 193 independent reporting entities. 30 Current as of October 14, 2015.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
14
This page intentionally left blank
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
15
Appendix A
Requirements of the Transparency Florida Act
Entity Section of Law Requirement Joint Legislative Auditing Committee 215.985(7) By November 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, the Committee
shall recommend to the President of the Senate and the Speaker
of the House of Representatives:
Additional information to be added to a website, such as whether to expand the scope of the information provided to
include state universities, Florida College System institutions, school districts, charter schools, charter
technical career centers, local government units, and other
governmental entities.
A schedule for adding information to the website by type
of information and governmental entity, including
timeframes and development entity.
A format for collecting and displaying the additional
information.
Joint Legislative Auditing Committee 215.985(13) Prepare an annual report detailing progress in establishing the
single website and providing recommendations for enhancement
of the content and format of the website and related policies and procedures. Report shall be submitted to the Governor, the
President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives by November 1.
Joint Legislative Auditing Committee 215.985(9) Coordinate with the Financial Management Information Board in
developing recommendations for including information on the
website which is necessary to meet the requirements of s. 215.91(8).31
Executive Office of the Governor (EOG), in
consultation with the appropriations committees
of the Senate and the House of Representatives
215.985(3) Establish and maintain a single website that provides access to
all other websites required by the Transparency Florida Act.
These websites include information relating to:
The approved operating budget for each branch of state
government and state agency;
Fiscal planning for the state;
Each employee or officer of a state agency, a state university, or the State Board of Administration; and,
A contract tracking system. Specific requirements include compliance with the American
Disabilities Act, compatible with all major web browsers,
provide an intuitive user experience to the extent possible, and provide a consistent visual design, interaction or navigation
design and information or data presentation. EOG, in consultation with the appropriations committees of the Senate and the House of
Representatives
215.985(4) Establish and maintain a website that provides information relating to the approved operating budget for each branch of state
government and state agency. Information must include:
Disbursement data and details of expenditure data, must be searchable;
Appropriations, including adjustments, vetoes, approved supplemental appropriations included in legislation other
than the General Appropriations Act (GAA), budget
amendments, and other actions and adjustments;
Status of spending authority for each appropriation in the
approved operating budget, including released, unreleased, reserved, and disbursed balances.
Position and rate information for employees;
Allotments for planned expenditures and the current balance for such allotments;
Trust fund balance reports;
31 The Financial Management Information Board, comprised of the Governor and Cabinet, has not met in a number
of years.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
16
Requirements of the Transparency Florida Act
Entity Section of Law Requirement EOG, in consultation with the appropriations committees of the Senate and the House of
Representatives (Continued)
General revenue fund balance reports;
Fixed capital outlay project data;
A 10-year history of appropriations by agency; and Links to state audits or reports related to the expenditure and
dispersal of state funds. EOG, in consultation with the appropriations
committees of the Senate and the House of
Representatives
215.985(5) Establish and maintain a website that provides information
relating to fiscal planning for the state:
The long-range fiscal outlook adopted by the Legislative Budget Commission;
Instructions to agencies relating to the legislative budget requests, capital improvement plans, and long-range
program plans;
The legislative budget requests submitted by each state agency or branch of state government, including any
amendments;
The Capital improvement plans submitted by each state
agency or branch of state government;
The long-range program plans submitted by each state agency or branch of state government; and
The Governor’s budget recommendation submitted pursuant to s. 216.163, must be searchable by the fiscal
year, agency, appropriation category, and keywords. The Office of Policy and Budget in the EOG shall ensure that all
data added to the website remains accessible to the public for 10
years. Department of Management Services (DMS) 215.985(6) Establish and maintain a website that provides current
information relating to each employee or officer of a state
agency, a state university, or the State Board of Administration.
Information to include:
Name and salary or hourly rate of pay of each employee;
Position number, class code, and class title;
Employing agency and budget entity.
Information must be searchable by state agency, state university,
and the State Board of Administration, and by employee name,
salary range, or class code and must be downloadable in a format that allows offline analysis.
Manager of each website described in 215.985(4),
(5), and (6). This refers to the three preceding
websites and to staff of the EOG and DMS
215.985(8) Submit to the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee information
relating to the cost of creating and maintaining such website, and
the number of times the website has been accessed.
Chief Financial Officer 215.985(14) Establish and maintain a secure contract tracking system
available for viewing and downloading by the public through a
secure website. Appropriate Internet security measures must be used to ensure that no person has the ability to alter or modify
records available on the website
Each State Agency 215.985(14)(a) Post contract related information on the CFO’s contract tracking
system within 30 days after executing a contract. Information to include names of contracting entities, procurement method,
contract beginning and ending dates, nature or type of
commodities or services purchased, total compensation to be paid or received, all payments made to the contractor to date, and
applicable contract performance measures. If competitive
solicitation was not used, justification must be provided.
Information must be updated within 30 days of any contract
amendments.
Water Management Districts 215.985(11) Provide a monthly financial statement to its governing board and make such statement available for public access on its website.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
17
Appendix B
Summary of Senate Bill 224 (2011) Requirements Related to Financial Transparency Documents That Entities Are Required to Post on Their Official Websites
Type of Entity (Current Statutory
Reference)
Tentative
Budget (must be posted
online)
Final Budget (must be posted
online)
Adopted Budget
Amendments (must be posted
online)
If No Official Website
Board of County
Commissioners ss. 129.03(3)(c) and 129.06(2)(f)2, F.S.
2 days before
public hearing
Within 30 days after
adoption
Within 5 days
after adoption N/A
Municipality (s. 166.241(3) and
(5), F.S.)
2 days before
public hearing
Within 30 days after
adoption
Within 5 days
after adoption
The municipality must, within a reasonable period of
time as established by the county or counties in which the municipality is located, transmit the
tentative and final budget to the manager or
administrator of such county or counties who shall post the budget on the county’s website
Special District
(excludes Water
Management
Districts)32
(s. 189.016(4) and
(7), F.S.)
2 days before
public hearing
Within 30 days after
adoption
Within 5 days
after adoption
The special district must, within a reasonable period
of time as established by the local general-purpose
government or governments in which the special district is located or the local governing authority to
which the district is dependent, transmit the tentative budget or final budget to the manager or
administrator of the local general-purpose
government or the local governing authority. The manager or administrator shall post the tentative
budget or final budget on the website of the local
general-purpose government or local governing authority.
Property
Appraiser (s. 195.087, F.S.)
N/A Within 30 days after
adoption N/A Must be posted on the county’s official website
Tax Collector (s. 195.087, F.S.)
N/A Within 30 days after
adoption N/A Must be posted on the county’s official website
Clerk of Circuit
Court (budget may be included in county
budget)
(s. 218.35, F.S.)
N/A Within 30 days after
adoption N/A Must be posted on the county’s official website
Water
Management
District
(s. 373.536(5)(c)
and (6), F.S.)
2 days before
public hearing
Within 30 days after
adoption N/A N/A
District School
Board (s. 1011.03(4), F.S.)
2 days before
public hearing
Within 30 days after
adoption
Within 5 days
after adoption N/A
Additional Requirement
Each local governmental entity website must provide a link to the Department of Financial Services’ (DFS) website to view the entity’s
annual financial report (AFR) submitted; if an entity does not have an official website, the county government website must provide
the link.
32 Legislation is expected to be filed for the 2016 Legislative Session which specifies the length of time the tentative
budget, adopted budget, and budget amendments must remain on a special district’s website. It also requires meeting
agendas and materials to be posted on a special district’s website at a specified period in advance of any meeting and
to remain for a specified period after the meeting.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
18
This page intentionally left blank
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
19
Appendix C
Transparency Florida Links:
Reports and Other Information Available for School Districts (As recommended in the Committee’s 2010 report)
Title of Report /
Other Information Summary Description of Report /
Other Information
School District Summary Budget
(http://www.fldoe.org/finance/fl-edu-finance-
program-fefp/school-dis-summary-budget.stml)
At the beginning of each fiscal year, each district school board formally adopts
a budget. The District Summary Budget is the adopted budget that is submitted
to the Department of Education (DOE) by school districts. The budget document
provides millage levies; estimated revenues detailed by federal, state, and local
sources; and estimated expenditures.
School District Annual Financial Report
(http://www.fldoe.org/finance/fl-edu-finance-
program-fefp/school-dis-annual-financial-reports-
af.stml)
The Annual Financial Report is the unaudited data submitted to the DOE by
school districts after the close of each fiscal year. It includes actual revenues
detailed by federal, state, and local sources, and actual expenditures.
School District Audit Reports Prepared
by the Auditor General
(http://www.myflorida.com/audgen/pages/subjects/
dsb.htm)
The Auditor General provides periodic financial, federal, and operational audits
of district school boards. The Auditor General also provides periodic audits of
district school boards to determine whether the district: 1) complied with state
requirements governing the determination and reporting of the number of full-
time equivalent students under the Florida Education Finance Program and 2)
complied with state requirements governing the determination and reporting of
the number of students transported.
School District Audit Reports Prepared
by Private CPA Firms
(www.myflorida.com/audgen/pages/dsb_efile.htm)
The Auditor General maintains copies of district school board financial and
federal audit reports, which are prepared on a rotational basis by private
certified public accounting firms.
School District Program Cost Reports (http://public2.fldoe.org/TransparencyReports/)
The Program Cost Report data is submitted to the DOE by school districts after
the close of each fiscal year. Actual expenditures by fund type are presented as
either direct costs or indirect costs, and are attributed to each program at each
school. A total of nine separate reports are produced from the cost reporting
system.
Financial Profiles of School Districts
(http://www.fldoe.org/fefp/profile.asp)
The Financial Profiles of School Districts reports provide detailed summary
information about revenues and expenditures of the school districts – revenues
by source and expenditures by function and object.
Florida Education Finance Program
(FEFP) Calculations
(http://www.fldoe.org/fefp/offrfefp.asp)
The FEFP is the primary mechanism for funding the operating costs of the
school districts, and calculations are made five times throughout each school
year to arrive at each year’s final appropriation. The amount allocated to each
of the components of the FEFP funding formula is shown for each school
district.
Five-Year Facilities Work Plan
(http://www.fldoe.org/finance/edual-
facilities/wkplans/)
The 5-Year District Facilities Work Plan is the authoritative source for
educational facilities information, including planning and funding.
Governmental entities that use this information include the Department of
Education, Legislature, Governor’s Office, Division of Community Planning
(growth management), and local governments.
Public School Websites
(https://app2.fldoe.org/publicapps/Schools/schoolmap/flash/schoolmap_text.asp)
Provides a link to the homepage of each school district.
TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
20
This page intentionally left blank